Solicitude
by hayairei
Summary: Shiraishi Megumi was very satisfied with her life and her childhood best-friend played a great deal in it. She could live like this forever, or so she thought. highscool!AU
1. Chapter 1

Title: Solicitude

Pairing: Aizawa/Shiraishi

Summary: Shiraishi Megumi was very satisfied with her life and her childhood best-friend played a great deal in it. She could live like this forever, or so she thought.

Notes: A highschool!AU in which our favorite doctors were next-door neighbors and childhood friends.

 _previously a-flowingheat_

* * *

Shiraishi Megumi was tired, all the homework and the extra lessons took all her energy. She could very much use a can of coffee, but she had her share of the day on lunch so she couldn't get more (her mother's ridiculous rule, for a high-schooler she thought it was). Her best alternative to it was her cozy bed, but she needed to work on her other piles of work (that was due like, 1 months away but she's too visionary what could she say) so she couldn't risk sleeping in her own bed for she know she'll sleep all the way through the night if she did so.

She sighed inaudibly, feeling somehow terrible. It must have been the chill, the weather was getting colder these days. She hugged herself, fastening the pace of her steps heading towards her home.

Before she entered her house's terrace (she had even opened the fence) an idea popped up in her brain and she decided to go to the house next to hers. She opened the gate without ringing the bell with a playful expression on her face, getting in as if it was her own home. Her shoes went right in the vacant space on the shoe rack (she'd like to think was specially prepared for her) as she entered the home.

A smell of sizzling hot curry hit her nostrils and she absent-mindedly walked towards the kitchen. She found an elderly woman cooking dinner in peace she didn't want to disturb her but she needed to, such a pity. "Kinue-baa-chan," Megumi called her softly and nod her head courteously.

"Ah! Megumi, you're here! He's upstairs, as usual, would you like some dinner?" The elder gleefully welcomed the teen, her face lightened up at her.

"I'm alright Baa-chan, I don't want to trouble you! I'll be heading up then." She went up the stairs, heading towards her childhood best-friend's room, slightly excited.

She opened the door to his room without knocking it first for she knew he wouldn't mind. As she entered the room casually, she put her bag next to his on a corner near the door and plopped down on the bed. The owner of the room didn't even turn his head to acknowledge her as he was immersed in writing something on his desk, right across the door.

Megumi took off her uniform blazer, hung it on a hook on the back of the door with his neatly hung uniform. She was getting her perfectly tucked-in uniform shirt out as it kind of stuffed her and she reached out to her back inside her blouse, unclasping her bra when the owner of the room finally broke the silence, "So why are you here today?" in a nonchalant intonation.

"I think I need a coffee-nap but sadly the coffee part was already done at lunch so now Iet me sleep and wake me up exactly 20 minutes after this," she replied as she get up and opened a small drawer next-to his cupboard, taking out a shorts for her to slip into.

As she was slipping the shorts unto her legs, she absent-mindedly wondered to herself, "Why am I so tired today, even when the workload was very much the same as every other day?" and she sighed, one the boy could hear before she settled herself comfortably in his bed. She fell asleep right then as fatigue took over her completely and missed the moment when the owner of the room finally turned around to face her just to find her already fast asleep.

* * *

Aizawa Kosaku would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he's quite, if not, just slightly, bored. He's been studying on his own after school in his room, not in some private institution or the likes of it because he knew he didn't need it and he was not going to trouble his grandma more than he's already done. Some sort of distraction for him to take a breather would be very much appreciated but he didn't know what to do so he just continued on reading the textbooks and doing the homeworks, the things normal high-school students would hate to the core. But he's not really a normal guy so he did those things in favor of other meaningless activity.

Half an hour after he kind-of admitted he needed a breather, he noticed a movement in his terrace through his windows just right in front of him. When he noticed what was happening, he couldn't help but smirked to himself (just enough for anybody else seeing it to went berserk and throw a party because he never have any other expression other than his stoic glare, really). His mood lighten up considerably and he continued on doing the chemistry problems in front of him with much more concentration than before.

As he did his works, he also counted the minutes of her arrival in his mind. _Any seconds now,_ he thought and just right then the door of his room was opened by the girl. The sound of her movements gave him a sense of tranquility he didn't know he needed. He knew better than to face her immediately though because she would certainly did things a normal grown, high-school girl wouldn't do in front of any boys but what could he say, she didn't think of him as a boy. He's just Kou-chan, her best-friend who's been with her since they're in diapers.

He decided to nonchalantly talk to her as she did all what she needed to, breaking the silence between them. When he knew he was going to be her personal alarm yet again, he could only chuckle inaudibly in amusement to himself, his back still facing her. After she rambled on how tired she was that day, he took notice of the date on his hanging calendar plastered on the walls. He finally turned around to face her properly with his hands crossed in front of his chest and was going to tell her that as a matter of fact her monthly visitor would be coming very soon but when he saw that she already fell asleep, he went back and continue studying, completely absorbed in what he was doing. But he didn't forget to wake her up exactly 20 minutes after he saw her sleeping (and somehow secretly took great entertainment from doing it).

* * *

 _ **6th Grade, Summer Vacation**_

 _The hot summer air sucked. More so that he hadn't met her for a few days._ He thought he finally need some other people to tolerate and play with. He totally didn't know what he did wrong but apparently Shiraishi Megumi decided she's had enough of his antics and left him on his own in the playground two days ago and ever since, they hadn't talked to each other.

Aizawa Kosaku was lying flat on his stomach in his living room, fanning himself to get rid of the heat. He sweat even when he practically did nothing, and the ominous feeling he's experiencing annoyed himself even more. He had thought of going next door to find her but he's also had enough of always apologizing first when he didn't even do anything too wrong.

He glanced at the calendar on the wall and sighed. It was barely the start of their summer vacation and if this went on, he supposed he'd have to learn to enjoy the holiday without her presence. He knew he could. Or so he thought.

In the two days he hadn't meet the girl, he didn't knew why but he had no desire of getting out of the bed. But then the room reminded him too much of her (and her absence) so he would resort to occupy his living room, like what he was doing right then.

His grandmother was in the kitchen, cutting some watermelon for them to eat. She must've sensed his distress, and she had enough of her grandson being more sulky than ever, only occupying the living room at day, doing nothing else.

"Kosaku, why aren't you meeting with Megumi these past few days?" she finally broke the silence. She waited for his answer and finally finished cutting the fruit and took it to the living room for them to eat together.

"I could live without her," he rolled his eyes, his grip on the paper fan tighten considerably.

"Sure, here, eat this," his grandmother shook her head disapprovingly, knew that he's delusioning himself. She offered the watermelon to him, and he took one and stuffed himself with it, trying to prove his grandmother he's saying the truth. Suddenly, they heard a shocking loud slam from outside the house. Kosaku jolted up instantly in alarm as he saw Megumi emerged from the front door, breathing heavily as if she'd just run a marathon. She probably just ran from her bedroom to here non-stop but the summer heat just made it worse.

Bending down on her knees, she calmed herself before she approached the grandmother and grandson. As she went closer to the living room, she could see Kosaku's enlarged eyes following her every movement, confusion clear in his eyes. She sat down next to him, flustered face came face to face with his bewildered one.

"I'm sorry for being rude, leaving you just like that on the playground that day," she apologized to him straight away, not wasting any second.

"It was all my hormones, really! It's just that my first period came," she sheepishly told him, and he didn't know what to make of the information. It's as if his brain stopped working for a moment, all of the information told was too much to handle. His grandmother was better at handling the news though, and he's kind of thankful for that.

"Ah! You're finally a woman, Megumi!" She remarked pridefully, smiled at the young girl, and pat her shoulder softly. Megumi could only nod and smiled back at her, and as she suddenly remembered she had uncharacteristically slammed the door, she frantically apologized to them with shock and horror plastered on her face.

After what felt like an eternity, his brain finally decided on processing the information. What left his mouth then surprised the three of them though, "Do you want...some ice cream?"

* * *

Notes: So this has been sitting on my draft for more than six months as I was planning for it to be a very long one-shot but then I think to make this chaptered would also be alright hence why I'm posting this now. To readers anticipating my other stories (*cough* Four Seasons *cough*) please be patient with me as I'm in my last weeks for my thesis defense preparation, after that I'll definitely complete it ASAP. In the meantime, do leave reviews! Favorites and Follows are highly appreciated too!

I really can't wait for the movie!


	2. Chapter 2

Title: Solicitude, Chapter 2

Pairing: Aizawa/Shiraishi

Summary: Shiraisi Megumi was just, being herself, switching between attentive and an airhead.

* * *

"Shiraishi, did you see Aizawa?" someone from her class interrupted her in the middle of decorating the classroom, shouting, trying to defeat the sound of drum and guitars playing in the background. Sadly, she could hear nothing of his voice as the band from the next classroom was practicing and the sound was resonating way louder than appreciated.

"I couldn't hear you!" she shouted back at the shorter guy with glasses, her hands still trying to hang some paper decorations above the chalkboard.

"Did you see Aizawa?" he shouted once more, louder than before.

"Ah! Try the garden, or the gym!" she replied without thinking, but kind of hoping the boy would leave her alone. Her answer satisfied him and he left shortly after thanking her, searching for the said guy. She kind of pitied him though, because the task of finding Kosaku in the midst of school festivities preparation was indeed a pain in the ass, moreover, she lied to him, so the burden would be doubled. She felt slightly guilty, but she also pitied Kosaku, so she turned a blind eye to it. She never lied about anything else, really, she supposed it's alright.

 _She noticed him, trying to inconspicuously run from the field. It was the sports meet on their 4th year of elementary school and the weather was scorching hot. She would understand if he tried to run to find a place to cool himself but she knew better than that._

 _He's hurt._

 _He envied all his friends who got to do the three-legged race with their fathers. Even when his expression showed nothing that indicated the truth, she just knew. Kou-chan had always put up a front, being strong in front of his grandmother, but he knew, and she did too, that deep inside he's as bothered as anybody else, about the absence of his parents._

 _She saw how he managed to went inside the school building unnoticed by the teachers and everybody else. Her legs automatically went towards the direction he took, abandoning the sports meet even though she was supposed to be the model-student. That time, she felt like she couldn't care any less about it, she just wanted to be where he was. She nearly lost track of him but thankfully then she saw him heading towards the school's supposed to be locked rooftop with some books in his hands. She followed him, running through the stairs._

 _As she opened the metal door of the rooftop, a gush of wind caressed her face and it felt so refreshing. She looked around and finally found him somewhere in the middle of the rooftop, his back resting on the walls that housed the stairs. He seemed like he was seriously reading some textbooks, but she knew his mind was not completely there._

" _Really, you're studying at such a time, Kou-chan?" she decided to interrupt his peace as she got closer to him._

 _He merely looked up, with his usual stoic expression, he wanted to say 'yes' but opted to not do it. What he heard next gave him a slight consolation as she kind-of agreed of what he was doing, "It's cool, really, the sports meet sucked anyway. My father could not make it again this year," she grinned largely even when what she said was supposed to be sad, proving her point to him that they had the same fate. And then she settled herself next to him, enjoying the gush of the wind flowing softly._

She find herself headed towards the one place she knew he'd be, after she was done with all her responsibilities. She opened the metal door of the rooftop, the wind that hit her as she went in ruffled her hair. _Ah, I should've brought my hair-tie,_ she thought. She spotted him at his usual place, his back on the walls as with books and homeworks surrounding him where he sat.

"Why did you run away from Fujikawa-kun this time?" she asked, closing the book he was reading to get all his attention.

A little snappy, he answered, "I'm not going to be some waiter and fake being hospitable, period." And he reopened the book on his hands right on the page he was forced to left before. He was getting into the second line of the paragraph when he hear her laughter, a loud one at that. He shot her a murderous look and she would stop her laugh that instant if only she was not so accustomed to it.

"How he even thought to make you as one was the wonder. That guy is magic," she said gleefully in between her laughter. He could only sigh and in a defeated manner (trying to at least came up with something to go against her) told her to, "talk to yourself," before she managed to guilt-trip him on actually doing it for their class and _you need to experience new things and interact with people other than me, Kou-chan!_

If Fujikawa was magic, Shiraishi Megumi would be a miracle.

* * *

"Um, Shiraishi," she heard Fujikawa cleared his throat and called for her. She stopped her hands that was cutting the paper decorations for the festival and looked up, so did Hiyama, her seatmate. She noticed how troubled he was, an exasperated look etched on his face and breath rugged.

"Can you help for a bit? We need to take the measurements for the waiters' costume but nobody is willing and able to take Aizawa's…more importantly he was nowhere to be found, as usual," he sighed and rubbed his temples, earning a pity-smile from Megumi, who actually could guess what's happening.

"Alright," she chuckled out loud, a hand patting Fujikawa's shoulder in empathy. She ultimately took the measurement band from his hand and left the classroom most immediately, heading towards the once place she's sure he'd be.

She opened the door to the school rooftop eagerly, humming to herself with each steps taken. "Kou-chan," she said in a sing-song voice and grinned, alarming him of her presence. She found him sitting peacefully with his eyes closed, back leaned on the walls, a rare occurrence for he was usually preoccupied with his textbooks and homeworks.

He opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the bright sunlight with his hand shielding his eyes. He furrowed his brows, wondering what the girl was up to, feeling that something unpleasant was about to happen. But what could he do? It's so hard to resist her and her actions.

He knew he needed to work on it, his soft-spot on her.

He could sometimes found himself in such unlikely situation just because he complied with her wishes. Not that he hated it that much because in truth (he'd never tell her) seeing her happy gave him some sort of satisfaction, but he wished he could be a little more resistant towards her pleas. And that's why he tried his best not to do that waiter-thing for the festival just to have his last fortress torn down by her mere words.

Megumi sometimes said things he could not refuse to see the truth in.

She showed him the measurement band in her hands with twinkles in her eyes, telling him animatedly "I'm taking your measurements. Stand up, please!" with smile a little too large to his liking.

Kosaku thought that it would be best to just get this over with and stood up, albeit a little wary. He knew she enjoyed this so much, just by looking at her expressions. "Alright!" she mumbled to herself and began measuring his bust, completely absorbed in it.

When she finished encircling the band and find his measurement, she looked up and met his eyes just to find him towered over her, even when they only have a slight height-difference. Their distance (or the lack of it) didn't help, and it startled her for she never noticed it. With enlarged eyes she blurted her immediate thoughts, "Kou-chan! I never knew you're this tall!" with her hands comfortably sitting on his shoulders as she marveled at the revelation. He could only averted his gaze and cleared his throat, didn't knew what comeback would be good.

She hastily went for his back, found a need to measure his shoulders instantly. When she look at the measured number, she could only gape in disbelief, blinked her eyes a few times to make sure it was not her hallucination. "Wow, your shoulders' so broad!" she couldn't help but state in amazement, staring at the measurement band as if it was a treasure.

"Megumi, you're embarrassing me," he could only shook his head sheepishly and disapprovingly, knowing her and her clueless personality.

Megumi didn't know that the growth spurt could affect a person so much. She was mostly oblivious to her surrounding and that sometimes made people think she was pretentious, but really, she's just that clueless. Living a seemingly perfect life had its perks, and this would be one of them, for her. And that was to not notice her best friend has grown to be _very_ manly. Also, not knowing that if only he's a little bit nice, lots of girls would die to take her place. So she's quite safe, for now.

* * *

Notes: I'M GRADUATING! That said, now I'll have time to write what I need to! I'm so excited somehow. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next! Reviews and faves are very welcome. Thank you for all of you who left loves, subscribed, and reviewed the story. Let's all pray for an Aishira progress in the movie!


	3. Chapter 3

Title: Solicitude, Chapter 3

Pairing: Aizawa/Shiraishi

Summary: Basketball matches and a new student.

* * *

"Shiraishi, you're coming to the basketball match today." a voice caused her to stop writing and look up from her books. It was Hiyama Mihoko, her seat-mate.

"I am?" she wasn't aware of that, she didn't even know there would be a match today. Hiyama and her straightforwardness confused her more often than not.

"Yes, because Aizawa is playing," she stated as-a-matter-of-factly with glimmers of playfulness in her eyes.

"He what?!" it was Megumi's turn to flip out, causing half the class to stop whatever they were doing and stare at the girl. When she realised they were staring profusely, she cleared her throat as if she wasn't guilty of anything and avoided every eyes looking at her. Then she frantically tidied up all her belongings, put her books and writing utensils in her bag, leaving her desk empty. She left the classroom abruptly and her actions amused Hiyama so much, she was so going to have fun today. And the game won't even start in another two hours.

Megumi walked as fast as allowed, heading towards the gym. She needed to be on the gym as fast as possible, she didn't knew why. As she entered the vicinity, she could hear the sound of dribbled balls and shoes meeting the wooden floor. She settled herself on one of the front row bleachers, trying to cool herself down from the heat she accumulated while she was walking. Nobody was on the audience seat except for her, and nobody was on the court aside from Kosaku. _What's with that boy, saying nothing to me when something as big as this was happening?!_

She did nothing except to observe his every move silently. He's as good as she could remember, back from their junior high days, when he was the star player of the school. She didn't knew why he stopped playing when they started high school, never said anything when she brought that up. She understood, or at least tried to be understanding, so she didn't push it further. And then this happened, and of course it would piqued her curiosity. But explanations could wait, right then she just wanted to see him play like the old times. One of the things he'd genuinely enjoy even when he didn't admit it to himself.

Time passed as she sat peacefully on the bleachers and the area's getting crowded with people entering the gym, excited to watch the game as words spread that some legend was going to play. She wouldn't know but if only she'd notice the audience, there were also a lot of guys, coming to see _her_ when people said the school's prettiest model-student visited the gym to watch the basketball match. All she could see was him, she didn't even notice Hiyama settled herself next to her until the girl slapped her upper arms hard to get her attention.

"A filial girlfriend aren't you, Shiraishi?" she heard her seatmate, and saw her smirk.

"What are you saying?" with a naive, puzzled expression, she faced the other girl with intensity.

Hiyama could only laugh to herself at how dense her friend was and merely shook her head and ignored the supposed to be smart girl. "Nothing. Anyways, the opponent is class 5 and they say to beat that class would mean to be the best of this school," Megumi furrowed her eyebrows, slightly worried, but she knew of his capabilities so she hold on to the faith.

The audience seat was fully occupied, both from people who wanted to see the supposed-legend playing and the beauty as spectator. The sound of horns and cheers fulfilled the gym as all the players settled into their position, though not like she cared for anyone other than him. The blow of the whistle marked the start of the game and Kosaku jumped for the first ball, successfully gained it in his favor. He charged ahead towards the opponent's goal and easily scored a three-point shoot barely 40 seconds after the start of the game. The cheers got louder as everybody witnessed such an amazing play, completely hypnotized by his movements.

The other side didn't easily concede though, one player seemed to match Kosaku's movements as he always tried blocking him to no avail. Megumi knew this would happen and she just smiled throughout the match in pride, her expression marveled all the male specimen in the room that was watching her. He made a joke out of the opposing team with minimal effort, and she knew if he make use a hundred percent of his abilities they would be crushed so hard he thought he'd spare them the embarrassment.

The match ended with their class as the champion, and she could see all the school basketball team player were begging Kosaku to join them to strengthen the team after people left the gym and it became less crowded. She thought she would have to save him from the hassle and she approached the group of boys with a can of cold drink in her hands. Her presence suppressed all the pleading sound towards him, all eyes fell upon her.

She stopped five steps in front of the center of attention, hands outstretched giving him the canned drink she bought. "Good job today," she said naturally and gave him a proud smile, as she always did when they're younger.

"Ah." he merely nodded and accepted the drink offered to him. Before the other guys could quit their trance, he grabbed her arms and led her to quit the gym. As they arrived to some place rather peaceful, he let go of his grasp on her arms and let out a sigh he didn't knew he held. Megumi could only laugh seeing the state her best-friend was in.

With his back in front of her, she decided to ask, "So what made you play the game? And you didn't even tell me such an important thing!" feigned being upset, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"I was only getting rid of a pest," he told her casually with a smirk on his face. His answer confused her more than it could give an understanding, as usual. "You and your confusing words," this time, it was her turn to sigh, one that earned her the chance to witness a rare genuine laughter from him. She punched his upper arms with all her energy, not that it hurt him in the slightest.

* * *

 _ **9th Grade, Day of Basketball Season Final Match**_

Shiraishi Megumi was frantically packing up the _bento_ she made for today's match when her doorbell rang. "I'm coming!" she shouted from the inside, knowing he could hear it from the outside perfectly. She looked at the watch in her wrist and noticed that she's running out of time, but the meal was not finished yet. She needed to prepare something special for the day as it was the final match of the season, but last minute preparations couldn't satisfy her enough.

"Ah, this is not going to be adequate," she murmured to herself in disappointment, wincing her eyes at the meal in front of her. Her mother could only shook her head in a disbelief because, if anyone else could see the _bento_ she prepared, they'd think it was prepared by some famous chef, yes, that's how good it actually was. But to her perfectionist daughter, it was not enough.

She knew the boy next-door would eat it gratefully whatever was prepared, so she reassured her, "Megumi, it's terrific, Kou-chan would enjoy it thoroughly, so don't let him wait anymore! He need to warm up, right?" and with that she ran out the house hurriedly not to cost him anymore time.

He leaned on the walls of her front gate, like he usually did as he wait for her. When he saw she was ready, he walked first, leading the way towards the match's location without any unnecessary words exchanged. "You're nervous, aren't you?" she teased from behind, catching up to him as she managed to encircled her hand on his shoulders. He cleared his throat, not denying nor confirming, only fastening his pace of walking. "I knew you'd win, so lighten up, really," she comforted him, and her words strengthen him in more ways than he expected.

The school team was going to play in the final match of the season against a new emerging but amazing team. She was slightly worried, something told her that today would not end in peace. But the team worked so hard for this day and to reward him especially, she wanted to make something unusual. As the team's captain, Kosaku had worked really hard on training and made sure the team's on their best condition up until today. It's his last chance to be the champion in the junior high league and she really hoped this time they could win to maintain their streak in the past two years.

When they finally arrived at the location of the match, he went to the locker rooms and she to the the front row bleachers as usual. It was still another two hours for the match to begin. Then he began his warming up routine with his team-mates and she watched in silence, drowned in his movements. Time passed as preparation took place from both teams and as people gathered on the gym, cheers could be heard resonating around the place, warming the place even more. Her heart beat faster, and she knew he felt it too, the adrenaline rush flowing on his vessels.

Their team led on the first two quarters, much to Megumi's glee. But then the opposing team steadily worked their way on catching up the score as they reached the final quarter, and that made her worries rematerialized. One thing she noticed, the opponent team kept Kosaku on a guard tightly, and that troubled her even more as the final seconds approached.

It was a minute towards the end of the match and the score tied, making her felt jumpy at the possibility of overtime. The ball was passed on to Kosaku, as all the other players from their team believed he could end the game perfectly. The opposing team guarded him heavily as he ran to their goal post with all his strength, guarding the ball swiftly. It was impossible throwing from the 3-point range, he knew, so he ran closer towards the basket surely. He jumped, the highest he could, and scored the basket and their win. But as he jumped, a player from the opposing team also did it to block the ball and when he saw the ball get in, he unconsciously harmed Kosaku, their legs tangled and they fall down harshly to the wooden floor.

Witnessing the fall, Megumi stood up hastily from her seat and shouted "Kou-chan!", frightened for him. She ran all the way towards the field from the bleachers, as people gathered around him and the other player. She pushed through the sea of people and sat down next to him, putting his head on her lap, making sure he's conscious. "Kosaku! Are you alright?" and without her knowing, she shed a tear. Her shoulders went up and down as she tried to contain her cry.

He opened his eyes and winced, barely managed to say, "I'm alright, it's just my legs hurt slightly, nothing I never experienced before," before closing his eyes once again, in an attempt to calm her. What he said opened the faucet to her tear-bland as she cried harder, the voice surprised him mildly.

"Hey, stop crying, I'm not dying," he reopened his eyes firmly this time and his hands reached out to touch her cheeks, wiping her tear stains. He had never liked it when she cried. She shouldn't be doing it with everyone looking, really. She calmed down after seeing the coach finished the first-aid for him and helped him up to get proper medication.

That day was the last time she and everybody else saw him playing in the basketball field.

* * *

 _ **Four hours before the basketball match**_

Kosaku was changing his clothes after the mandatory gym class in the boy's locker room. It was a nice interlude to his routine of studying, and to be honest he kind of missed it, the feeling of adrenaline rush on his veins, sweat trickled down his face, the heat of the field embracing all the cells on his body. But he could tolerate his longing for the court better than seeing her cry because of him, and that settled it. He's okay with only playing occasionally, games he knew was less prone to injuries.

He finished putting on his uniform (shirt tucked in neatly, sleeves rolled halfway through, the top button open, just like how he liked it) when he heard it, a very disturbing conversation. He frowned to himself, his thumbs restless as he thought about what he should do.

"If we win the basketball match today, I'll definitely confess to her," a voice resonated, and he could see the guy saying it had a smirk on his face, very confident. Another voice joined in, wondering, "Are you sure? Confessing to Shiraishi? Do you have 9 lives or what?" The former merely laughed and then he met Kosaku's eyes, staring as if he's challenging him. He barely recognized him, the newly transferred student of the next-door class, Shinkai Hiroki.

He shouldn't even be bothered about it, knowing that she didn't have any interest in that kind of thing right now (she gave 100% of her mind to study she didn't even notice how many hearts she had broken). But, connecting all the dots together, he knew there'd be a basketball match between his class and the class next-door. He'd take up that offer given by Fujikawa, for him to play in the match (that guy was totally begging him to help the class win, he was slightly tempted, but then this happened and it gave him all the reason there was to play and desire to win).

He needed to loosen up all his joints after lunch, he mused.

* * *

Notes: Nobody else could provoke the jealousy in Aizawa other than Shinkai lmao I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

This is actually the last chapter that I've written ahead and be satisfied with, pray for me so that I'll get my writer gear work soon :')

And this chapter is supposedly longer than before, dear Guest reviewer, I'll write as much as I can but no promises.

ohanamaru: OMG IF YOU DO DRAW THE HIGHSCHOOL AU CB PLEASE TELL ME PRETTY PLEASE

Thank you for all the loves!


	4. Chapter 4

Title: Solicitude, Chapter 4

Pairing: Aizawa/Shiraishi

Summary: Just an annual school trip in which our Hero and Heroine were helpless in their own ways.

* * *

"Oi Aizawa, stop being sullen and join us!" he heard his name called loudly by the resident nosy-guy Fujikawa. He was just being his usual self, doing things on his own, but that Fujikawa must have decided everybody on the class should stay together. It wasn't like they were toddlers, and he could only roll his eyes and sigh.

It was their annual school trip for the second-year students, one that Megumi had been very excited to go to (she had started preparing for this journey a month ago, he could practically hear all the buzz coming from her room). He didn't really have any opinion about it, because it was just a routine, one that he took for granted. The only reason he was joining this trip was because it was counted on the attendance mark, or else he'd be in his room doing all productive things he could.

The only thing that made him bear following the entourage was that he could keep watch of her -not that he would tell her in person what he did because it was quite creepy- but where was she again, he lost track of her because that unnecessary clamor.

They were passing by a local market with all the festivities offered, street food stalls and shops decorated every nook and cranny he could see and he couldn't find a way to locate her. All the noise his classmates made was too loud for his liking, proving their immaturity as they goofed around splashing whatever water from random stalls at each other like there'd be no tomorrow. He really need to find her, the one person he could actually tolerate, and be himself with. He needed to get away from all the chaos that had sucked out all his energy. Not even chemistry equations got him this troubled.

Fastening his steps, he walked ahead of the group in search of peace. When he could hear all the noise fading, he felt his insides calmed slightly though not completely. Megumi, he needed to know her whereabouts. She was not in some kind of trouble, was she? He knew she's capable of protecting herself, but sometimes her obliviousness could led her to unsettling predicaments.

Kosaku let out a sigh of relief voluntarily when he saw her crouching down in front of a little girl, presumably lost in front of a balloon booth under a big tree. He approached her silently in haste, finally stopped a few steps before her and she looked upwards facing him as she felt a shadow hovering above her.

"What are you doing?" He asked nonchalantly, a way for him to show his concern. And then he felt a soft tug on his trousers, causing him to look down unto the little girl.

"Ah! Kou-chan! This little girl lost her mother, I was just going to bring her to the nearest security station," her eyes lighten up as she saw him, then she continued with a hint of uncertainty, "but, she didn't seem to welcome my help," she sighed in exasperation. As he looked into her eyes, it was as if it was saying _"please save me!"_ in utmost desperation.

He merely raised his eyebrows at her and mimic her, crouching down to meet the little girl's eye level. "Are you lost?" asking the girl tenderly. The girl nodded enthusiastically with a frightened look on her face, cheeks red of blood rushing and tears on the tips of her eyes, on the verge of breaking down.

"Let's get you to the security..," he assured the little girl and pat her head softly. He turned his attention towards the balloon seller, (somehow going on the autopilot mode) get his wallet out from his trousers' pocket and bought one. He handed the balloon to the girl and the action seemed to calmed her a little. That earned him a look from Megumi as if he had grown two heads, her eyes opened wide in amazement and confusion. Then he offered his hands towards the girl, which she took in eagerly. He signaled the older girl to also stand up and led them towards the nearest security station, safely escorting the former towards her mother who was magically already waiting.

The pair of best friend bowed in respect to the older woman who continuously thanked them for

keeping her daughter safe, to say the crowd in the market was jammed was an understatement. Shortly after, they left the security station just to find their entourage was nowhere to be found.

"Megumi, I think the group left us," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly, observing the street-market that was full of their group just a few minutes ago has now become considerably more reserved but still bustling.

"So it seemed like it, huh…" she replied absentmindedly, breathing on the lively market air with eyes engrossed in her surrounding. She was trying to take in as much vista as she could as moment like these that allowed her to let loose was limited. She didn't know when they'd be able to experience such thing again, and that decided her resolve.

"Well, let's enjoy ourselves, shall we?" she said with a hint of playfulness, very unlikely of her exaggerated honor student personality.

Kosaku merely shrugged and continue walking with her, dragging her arms as to not lose her in the crowd again. He supposed this was better than to follow the group's schedule, nothing interest him, truthfully. Besides, he's sure Megumi had memorized the way to their accommodation perfectly so he knew they'd be alright.

"You know I could really use a balloon too, Kou-chan," Megumi chimed in playfully, with a grin on her face. "The ones sold were very pretty!"

"I'd rather buy you something else," Kousaku scoffed, "Poor balloon would be deflated even before this trip ends."

"You're definitely no fun," she mocked as she locked her arms he dragged on his, closing the gap of their bodies closer.

"Likewise, Megumi," and a small smile was painted on his face, the kind that he could only show before her.

* * *

Notes: IM SORRY FOR NOT UPDATING THIS FOR NEARLY A YEAR

this has been sitting in my draft for such a long time and I was planning to write more stock-chapters first before updating but somehow my brain stopped working properly and I completely failed, so this lame of an excuse has to materialize. I really want to continue writing this AU so if you guys could be patient...I'd be very glad! Oh, and also, do drop me high-school tropes (or what you want to see in this AU haha) I need inspirations. I hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter.


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